The present invention pertains generally to isotope separation and more particularly to non-laser deuterium separation from hydrogen.
Techniques for separating isotopes which utilize a laser have the disadvantage of requiring equipment which is difficult and expensive to maintain. These processes also require large expenditures of energy.
Isotope separations based on classical gas phase or liquid phase chemical reaction or isotope exchange provide small separations per stage at room temperature. The amount of separation can be increased by decreasing the temperature, but unfortunately the total throughput drops significantly as the rate of reaction drops at the lower temperatures.
Recently it has been reported in Basov et al, Isotope Separation in Chemical Reactions Occurring under Thermodynamic Nonequilibrium Conditions, In JETP Lett. 19(6) :p. 190-1, March 20, 1974 and in Basov et al, Kinetics of Nonequilibrium Chemical Reactions and Separation of Isotopes, In Sov. Phys. -JETP: 41(6):p. 1017-9, 1976, that nitrogen-15 has been separated from air by a low-temperature gas-phase reaction of nitrogen with oxygen. The mechanism invoked by the author to explain the experimental results would limit this technique to only separating nitrogen-15 from nitrogen-14. To date the reported yields cannot be duplicated and the reported mechanism has not been verified.
Presently the most successful non-laser deuterium separation process is a gas-liquid phase reaction wherein hydrogen sulfide passes through water. The deuterium present in water (generally about 0.01%) preferentially replaces hydrogen in the hydrogen sulfide. Since the degree of enrichment is only about 5% per stage, the process requires numerous stages and passes. Consequently, the process requires a large equipment investment and the expenditure of much energy. Further, the process employs the dangerous poison, hydrogen sulfide.